The Kidney and Function of the Nephron Flashcards
What is the cortex?
Outer region of the kidney made of Bowman’s capsules, tubules and blood vessels.
What is the medulla?
Darker, inner region of the kidney made from loops of Henle, collecting ducts and blood vessels.
What is the pelvis?
A cavity within the kidney where urine starts to collect.
What is the ureter?
A tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder.
What is Bowman’s capsule?
The structure found at one end of the nephron that contains the glomerulus.
What type of cells line the inside of Bowman’s capsule?
Podocytes
What is the proximal convoluted tubule?
A tubule that connects the glomerulus to the loop of Henle.
What is the loop of Henle?
A loop that extends from the cortex, through the medulla, and back into the cortex again.
What is the distal convoluted tubule?
The tubule closest to the collecting duct
What is the collecting duct?
The tube from which many nephrons are connected to, which transports urine into the pelvis.
Where is the afferent arteriole and what does it do?
Supplies the nephron with blood and its capillaries extend into the glomerulus.
Where is the efferent arteriole and what does it do?
Leaves Bowman’s capsule and supplies the loop of Henle with blood
Name the 4 stages of osmoregulation.
Formation of glomerular filtrate
Reabsorption by the proximal convoluted tubule
Maintenance of ion gradient by loop of Henle
Reabsorption of water by distal convoluted tubule
Describe the structure of glomerular capillaries.
Endothelial cells with pores between them so substances can leak out
Why does hydrostatic pressure build in the glomerulus?
How does this lead to formation of filtrate?
Diameter of afferent arteriole greater then efferent arteriole.
This causes glomerular filtrate to squeeze out between pores in capillaries.